Who lives here?

July 2012

July 30, 2012

So, we reached the goal of launching the car at Silverstone, but we still have to press on with getting the car mechanically sound and MOTd, not least because I no longer want to push the great 700kg beast up the ramps onto the trailer. The car will be featured on our car club's stand at a classic car show in November, and we've decided that we want to drive it to the hall and not trailer it. So that is a good target to aim for and gives us about 3.5 months to finish it off mechanically.

Martin has been taking a well-earned break this week and talking to a lot of people about the car and the rebuild. It's surprising how much emotion this car has aroused in the older members of the club, not least Martin's father who was resigned to never seeing the car rebuilt in his lifetime. In fact, that has been the most common remark we've heard from everyone: "never in my lifetime did I think I'd see it."

As for me, I've been assessing the impact of the car on our finances, making sure the insurance covers it and then sorting out budgets and adjustments for the coming months. Because we realised we would not be spending a large amount of money on rebuilding the engine before Silverstone, we relaxed a little on the finances in July, which is possibly just as well, as there are many things we needed that we were doing without, things which were important in saving us time, money and making us much more energy efficient in the future.

I'll tell you about that next time, because it is part of our overall desire to drive down our bills and up our savings and investments so we can retire sooner. You might think that is odd thing to say given that we have just rebuilt an expensive car, but it was only very recently that I realised that the cars Martin rebuilds are the investment themselves.

Despite the amount of money we spend on them, the rarer ones can be worth roughly a third to double what we spend when they are finished. Besides property and possibly shares in up and coming companies, I don't know many other investment that can double what you paid out for acquiring it so quickly, so I'm reconsidering what I thought I knew about investments and looking to see whether these rare fibreglass kit cars can help us on the road to a secure financial future.

July 21, 2012

Seven months of hard slog (plus the last 24 hours before the event operating through sheer bleary-eyed, furry-tongued terror and little sleep) and today we presented our classic car at Silverstone.

We fabricated this car from nothing more than a rusty chassis and part of the original car's boot floor, which managed to escape the fire that consumed most of it in the 1980s.

We managed to get hold of previous owners who sent us all the pictures they had, and from their stories and images worked out what we needed to do. We used a few beaten up fibreglass panels that Martin had lingering around from his car busienss days when he restored these for a living, plus casted new panels from moulds. The engine doesn't run, but the car looks wonderful, and Martin's father is so excited and chuffed. He sat in his wheelchair behind the car and sprang out of it to talk to anyone who showed any interest. He looked energised and full of life.

During this week I have done so many jobs on the car it's became a blue in the end. We moved from job to job, one after the other. Trimming door panels, fitting catches, windscreens, wheels, blacking and adding tyres, tweaking the suspension, number plates, adding engine bay parts, lights and all the touches to a car that make it come alive.

Well, as much as it can be without a working engine. That of course is our biggest regret - that we could not get that done in time, but we learnt. In fact, this whole project has shown us what we are capable of. It has stretched us, which is considered a secondary objective to achieving a goal usually, but I think should be given much more importance than that.

I no longer think it's the goal you achieve that is important, it is the person you become as a result of the journey to achieving the goal. Martin's confidence has just sky-rocketed over the last week when he realised it was coming together, that he had done something that no-one else had done in the last 32 years. Our capacity to be resilient and resourceful in the face of adversity has helped sky-rocket mine.

Anyway, Martin is currently tweaking the suspension again ready for tomorrow and I'm cooking fajitas and then we sit down to relax with a film.

Oh and one more thing.

Thank you all very much for your comments over the last few months, some of which you made on here and some which you emailed or phoned me with. They were all much appreciated, and helped us keep our spirits up and keep going during some pretty tough times.

July 16, 2012

Well it's Monday and I'm taking stock of my injuries to determine if I'm going to the doctor's.

Hamstrings ok? Check

Calf muscles ok? Check

Achilles Tendons ok? Left, check. Right, a little tender.

Thing poking out under ankle bone? Going down nicely.

Cautiously, while touching wood, I'm going to say I'm ok. Another few days and the right achilles should be ok. So major disaster avoided and lesson learned. And Martin has now bought a proper winch to get cars up the ramp.

However, I think I have some biomechanical issues.

Since before I met Martin I've had some kind of injury or problems whenever I have taken up exercise, be that running, weights, Pilates, taebo or swimming. Sooner or later I get injured in some way. I gave myself a nasty inner thigh strain before I met Martin where it twanged and bruised itself while I was swimming lengths (and swimming is supposed to me non-impact). Pilates? I hurt a muscle in my hip and couldn't put my foot down properly for three weeks. Weights and running, always something going on there - I used to feel sometimes I lurched from one injury to the next. Taebo I twanged something quite audibly while I was mid-kick after I'd been doing it for about three months. That put paid to that.

And that's when I thought about the biomechanicals of my body. Something somewhere is off-kilter, getting worse as the years go by, and that is probably all due to the way my feet strike the ground.

I've always know I've gone to far over on the outside of my feet when I walk and run, and that causes problems with my muscles, tendons etc as my body tries to compensate, but it wasn't until this weekend I realised that a so called 'running expert' had given me a recommendation for a type of trainer for someone who rolls too far inwards on their feet, not outwards. No wonder I've felt off kilter when I did anything in trainers for the last 10 years or more. They were encouraging the problem to get worse, not better.

I now know I am an underpronator, not an over pronator. The wear patterns on my trainers and the way I feel like my feet are rolling outwards and over confirm this. Also, untreated chronic underpronators (also called supinators) start having problems in the neck and shoulder, while over pronators start having problems in their hips and spine. I always have a sore neck and shoulders- have had for the last year or so - but had put it down to maybe needing a new mattress. Maybe the right trainers and shoes would be cheaper ;-)

So this weekend I've made a few decisions about what to about all this. If I am going to get fit and get back to exercising I have to sort this out once and for all.

1. No more high heels - nothing over two inches anymore. They're shortening my calf muscles and achilles, and I also have the beginnings of a bunion. I bought a new pair of birkenstocks this weekend in smart black leather so I can wear them to work. I bought a pair 12 years ago which got so scruffy I relegated them to summer garden work, but forgot the good they were doing for my feet. I have to find a pair of boots for the winter, which I will save up for, and a pair of work shoes for outside meetings where birkies are not appropriate.

This week I am having a ritual throwing out session. I will post a picture of the 'heap' when I am done. I know I will have hardly anthing left but this is important so it has to happen.

Check out this poster by the Amercian Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (click on it to see it bigger)

2. Better trainers. I have replaced my trainers this weekend for ones designed for an under-pronator, so when I go back to walking (slowly) sometime next week I shall see how stable I feel in them.

3. Orthotics. I had two pairs made for me a few years ago but stopped using them as they didn't seem to make anything better. Of course now I know they were probably fighting the trainers so couldn't be as effective as they needed to.

3. Stretching. I've thought about stretching a lot more and have started doing the set of stretches a physio taught me to do about nine years ago when I had a running injury, which are much more comprehensive and extensive than normal gym stretches. Once I get to a certain level of flexibility I'd like to give yoga a go or perhaps go back to Pilates.

4. Toe yoga. Before you burst out laughing, think how often we stretch our feet out compared to the rest of our body, and yet they do a massive amount of work for us. Sometimes I get cramp in my toes just by stretching them out slightly, which is ridiculous. I found this interesting website with specific yoga foot exercises and have bought this: a toe yoga device.

With any luck, if I do these consistently my feet will start to relax and I should see that fledgling bunion of mine disappearing.

By the way, on the subject of bunions, I came across this interesting site - a lady who has tried may different things to sort her quite bad ones out and she has had some success with some things she has tried.

5. Supplements. Martin and I have both started taking glucosamine and chondroitin supplements. He's been suffering with his knees and hips lately, and his arthritic neck is an ongoing cause for concern. So we're going to give them a go for six months and see if things improve.

***

You never realise just how much the health of your feet affect your outlook, confidence and fitness until you have problems. Now I've really sat down and thought about it I have pains in my feet and ankles every day in some way, have for years, so it's now time to do something about it while I still can. I want to get fit and until I address my biomechanical issues I won't be able to.

July 12, 2012

I've been doing a lot of strength training over the last five weeks, so much so that I've been flinging things around like popeye.

On Saturday Martin needed me to help him move all the galvanised steel panels from the two air raid shelters off the ramp at the front of the house and take them round the back into the garden. Oh dear. Not looking forward to this. I remember moving them 15 feet from the trailer to the ramp when we bought them and I was hurting all the way through. Dripping with sweat, arms screaming in pain, puffing and panting. It took so long. Now I had to move them far, far further.

I gritted my teeth and heaved them up...and toddled them round to the house barely breaking a sweat. At one point I had to lift the panels up over my head to negotiate an obstacles. No problem. By the end Martin was knackered and panting - and I was fine. In fact I came in and did my workout on the treadmill afterwards.

Fast forward Sunday and a tricky car swap had to happen. The current restoration project had to be moved from the workshop into the garage. But there was already another car there. And about half a tonne of rockstone concrete panels in between to take out from the back of the garage and fit back afterwards, not to mention a 25 foot ramp to push the cars up and let down from. Which had to be cleared first.

Mid project - nothing on ramp, no car in garage, no wall in garage and empty workshop

In terms of getting the job done, it went well. Job accomplished together in about 2.5 hours, although towards the end I was so low on muscle energy I started seeing stars and had to eat something to carry on.

Unfortunately, in terms of damaging me, job accomplished there too, and made worse by me thinking I was just a tad stiff from all that exercise on Sunday. Doing workouts Monday and Tuesday to limber me up a little - oh and I slipped in some weights Monday too - was Stupid, Stupid, Stupid.

I have strained both achilles tendons, both calf muscles, both hamstring muscles, and something interesting has tried to pop out just to the side of my ankle bone. Whatever it is links into my knee because that is painful and weak to. My thigh muscle doesn't hurt any more thankfully though. That pain went yesterday.

I am strapping until Monday when I can see the doctor, and until then rest (no exercise), elevation, ice and heat packs, more support strapping and ibuprofen three times a day.

If I'm careful, I might be over the worst of the strains by then, and just have to deal with this oddity under my ankle bone and what that's doing to my knee.

July 09, 2012

I've been fiddling around with my weight and exercise routines over the last few weeks. Do you remember when I said I'd had enough of being the weight I am and feeling as bad as I do. From that day forward I have been eating clean and exercising and the weight has started to come off.

As of yesterday, I'm now 168lbs so have lost 8.4lbs since I started 5 weeks ago. Good stuff BUT.

I know I haven't been working out consistently. I know I haven't. I'm not going to lie and say I worked my butt off on the treadmill, unless working one's butt off means doing one of two workouts a week and then slacking off the rest with excuses.

So, I've decided to set myself a massive goal. Take massive action. And to keep me motivated attach real pain the outcome.

Between today and December 24th I will exercise five days a week for 20 minutes. At least three sessions must be High Intensity Interval Training, the other two can be either steady state walking/running. That's 121 sessions. If I miss a session, I will pay my niece and nephew £25 each.

How motivating do you think that is?

The only way I'm allowed to miss a session is if I am demonstrably ill or I have injured myself and exercise will make it worse.

I know at this point you're probably thinking "why doesn't she just be more positive and reward herself when she reaches her weight/exercise goals instead ?"

Two reasons:

1. Because the Anthony Robbins programme showed me that I am not motivated by pleasure when it comes to weight loss. In fact, although very nice I'm not motivated much by pleasure at all. For example, some people use cheat days as rewards - chocolate or alcohol or pizza as a reward for staying on track. I can't do that. I can deal with open biscuit tins, cakes, and chocolate bars around me, in fact, I no longer feel any craving for them even if I smell them, but if I put them in my mouth "Danger, Danger, Danger. Code RED. Binge eating to commence in 5-4-3-2-1" and suddenly I have an empty packet in my hand and 3,000 calories in my bloodstream being converted to fat.

2. As I'm overweight why would I want to reward myself with 'cheat' food anyway? That doesn't make any sense to me. Food, the wrong stuff, is my downfall. Why stick blatant temptation of failure in my way by eating the very thing that triggers binge eating in me?

I needed a better strategy, and I went through lots of different scenarios to see which would motivate me - and I found that little cracker motivated by loss of a lot of money.

At the top right of my blog you'll see a list entitled "121 for Christmas" and I'll be updating the score there once a week.

July 05, 2012

Martin and I are celebrating this evening with an uncharacteristic glass of champagne. Today I reached day 26 of my Anthony Robbins Personal Power II progrmme to discover that I had pretty much finished it - the remaining four days is making sure all the assignments over the last four days are done and listening to and reading uplifting and inspiring material. Which is exactly what I was in the process of doing anyway in addition to the daily assignments.

I'm so chuffed. It's not easy getting through a course of that length, especially one that needs such honest and lengthy self-assesment and work on yourself every day. The last 10 days or so has left me in a much better frame of mind than I was in May. In fact, I can honestly say I've never felt this good before. I don't think I'm going to be quite the same again.

Thank goodness for that.

I sat down tonight and had a serious chat with Martin. We don't have kids because we want the freedom to do whatever we please. Which apart from the car is pretty much nothing. I pointed out that we were doing exactly the same thing as (generally speaking) people with children do. They may exercise of an evening, they cook dinner, they do the homework with the kids and then bath and put them to bed. Then they may watch some TV or housework while the kids are asleep and then they go to bed.At the weekend it's gardening, some hobbies, cleaning and tidying, maybe a bit of shopping.

Hello and welcome to our world.

Apart from the homework, bath and bed, we do the same stuff. If we're not going to have children then I suggested let's take advantage of that time that's available to us. Let's go and do stuff, and stuff that preferably doesn't revolve around food and drink as I have to be careful of both and really it's tough to make memories while sitting and being well-behaved in a restaurant. Let's go and make some proper memories. Theres nothing memorable about our life and hasn't been for a few years. The car has given us some memories and not all good to be honest, but that will hopefully change by the time we get to Silverstone once we see the reactions of everyone.

As I said, that programme has made sure life will never be the same again. I'm not living like this anymore.

July 01, 2012

I'm on day 22 of a 30-day Anthony Robbins programme called Personal Power II. I've had it for probably five years and have never actually listened to it. I don't think I've been ready to listen until recently. There's a lot of work involved every day besides around 30-45 minutes of listening. There's assignments and exercises to carry out, not to mention a great deal of thought that goes on throughout the day.

I've been able to identify and change my mind about certain self-limiting beliefs that have been holding me back, beliefs I wasn't even aware I had and have been deeply rooted for decades. The enthusisam and passion he has comes across constantly and that carries you along and keeps your motivation high to complete each day.

In addition to the programme I'm also going onto youtube and watching some extra bits and pieces from his seminars, and somewhere along the way I found Oprah Winfrey's commencement address at Stamford in 2008.

"When you're doing the work you're meant to do, it feels right and every day is a bonus, regardless of what you're getting paid. It's true. And how do you know when you're doing something right? How do you know that? It feels so. What I know now is that feelings are really your GPS system for life. When you're supposed to do something or not supposed to do something, your emotional guidance system lets you know. The trick is to learn to check your ego at the door and start checking your gut instead. Every right decision I've made—every right decision I've ever made—has come from my gut. And every wrong decision I've ever made was a result of me not listening to the greater voice of myself.

If it doesn't feel right, don't do it."

You know, I stopped listening to my gut a couple of years ago. I got that logical head thing on and said "No. Head down. Earn money. Do something different to copywriting. Anything."

"Now I want to talk a little bit about failings, because nobody's journey is seamless or smooth. We all stumble. We all have setbacks. If things go wrong, you hit a dead end—as you will—it's just life's way of saying time to change course. So, ask every failure—this is what I do with every failure, every crisis, every difficult time—I say, what is this here to teach me? And as soon as you get the lesson, you get to move on. If you really get the lesson, you pass and you don't have to repeat the class. If you don't get the lesson, it shows up wearing another pair of pants—or skirt—to give you some remedial work.

And what I've found is that difficulties come when you don't pay attention to life's whisper, because life always whispers to you first. And if you ignore the whisper, sooner or later you'll get a scream. Whatever you resist persists. But, if you ask the right question—not why is this happening, but what is this here to teach me?—it puts you in the place and space to get the lesson you need."

Do you know, I only just twigged something this morning.

All these problems that have happened this year, they're all part of something much bigger. I blogged a long time ago how I felt that I was on the cusp of something, that there was something big round the corner.

I think this is it. I was expecting one event I think. One life changing event that would start me down a road to something new and exciting, not really this drawn out sticky mess that keeps grinding on and grinding me down. I forgot that the motivator for any change is being dissatisfied with something. And maybe it's not the job of the universe to just present us with a solution in one neat parcel.

It's up to us to figure out what we want and then go and get it.

"...be a part of something. Don't live for yourself alone. This is what I know for sure: In order to be truly happy, you must live along with and you have to stand for something larger than yourself. Because life is a reciprocal exchange. To move forward you have to give back. And to me, that is the greatest lesson of life. To be happy, you have to give something back."